Pales In Comparison

The Palin Trickle-Down Effect

Deny, deny, deny....even if it's already a matter of public record.  Mel Martinez, Michelle Bachman, and Robin Hayes, like George Allen before them, don't understand the power of the internet, the iReporter, the new digital medium, because:   If you say it, someone will have it on tape or on video and it will be blogged about before you are done putting you are done putting a period on that silly thing that you said...

The fantastic news of the day is that according to a new PEW Research Poll, Americans aren't fooled by Palin's silliness:

McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, is also proving to be a drag on the Republican presidential ticket. Nearly half, 49%, have an unfavorable opinion of Palin. Women under 50 years old in particular dislike Palin, with 60% holding an unfavorable view—up from 36% one month ago.

Irony, Thy Name Is Sarah

Today Sarah Palin said

See, as a senator, John has confronted the corrupt ways of Washington and the wasteful spending and the abuses of power. As president, he's gonna end those once and for all.

On Friday, the Troopergate report said

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act

If you see her, can you explain what irony is? 

Y'all Need To Sit Down Before You Read This Post...

....because what I'm going to tell you is going to shock you so badly, you might pass out or suffer a heart palpitation.  When you're ready, please read slowly, taking time to check your heart rate and equilibrium.
Ok, then, gentle reader, here we go...

At a campaign event on Friday, Governor Sarah Palin said that Barack Obama "put ambition above country" and tried to influence Iraqi politicians who were negotiating with the U.S.:

....[Palin said] Obama tried to influence the negotiations "in a way that would set back America's cause there, while advancing his campaign here."

"If this is true ... it is a stunning example of putting ambition above country," Palin said. "To put political ambitions in front of doing what's right for our troops is breathtaking, and it is unacceptable."

Palin said she was "frustrated" that the report did not come out until a little more than three weeks before the election.

"I pray to God that people have enough time to let this register with them and start again, connecting the dots, and understand the contrast between the tickets," she said.

Is everybody still Ok? Because this is where it gets a little well, shocking.  You are not going to believe it, but Sarah Palin is lying.  Her statement isn't true.  According to the Iraqi Foreign Minister, this is a flat out bald-faced, pile of moose shit. 

I know, I know, dear reader. You're thinking that I must be wrong.  You're thinking "Our Sarah would never tell a lie, because she's a born-again, Bible believin', gun-totin', hot ticket and she knows that Jesus would never approve of lying."   I'm so very sorry to be the bearer of this news, but Sarah Palin is spinning you one big pile of ooompa. 

Please be careful where you step.  Once you step, you find that it's so deep, it's impossible to get yourself out of it.   

It is White. Sarah Palin Swears It's Black

There can no longer be one iota of doubt about Sarah Palin's pathological lying.  If your sweater is white, Sarah Palin will tell you it's black and then tell you you're crazy when you tell her that it's white. 

In the matter of Troopergate, the findings by the investigative committee are

For the reasons explained in section IV of the report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.11(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

Yet when Sarah Palin was questioned by reporters about the matter, she was "thankful" that she'd done no wrong:

“I’m thankful that the report has shown that there was no illegal or unethical activity there in my choice to replace our commissioner,” she said. “A partisan kind of process that had been undertaken by some of the legislators who haven’t been real happy with anything that I’ve done along the way as governor, that process is now over, with that finding that I haven’t done anything unlawful in replacing the commissioner.”

Ok, she has us there--she parsed her words and didn't really fib. She is correct by the letter of the finding, even though she's lying according to the spirit of the report.  The report finds that she was within her rights as governor to fire the commissioner but it found that she abused her power in the matter of trying to have Trooper Wooten fired.....so her response when reminded that the report did indeed find that she abused her power was :

“There was no abuse of authority at all in trying to get Officer Wooten fired."

(emphasis in  both quotes mine)  Liar.  Sarah Palin is a flat liar.  That statement is in direct contradiction to what the report found, and every major news source on the planet agrees:
CNN
The New York Post
The Boston Globe
Bloomberg
The Guardian UK (which is a far more damaging opinion than any of our domestic papers would print)

Freakin' A.... Is there anything that she won't do or say, is there no ethical line that she won't cross? Or does she just live on Planet Palin where Sarah's perception is all that matters and integrity and honesty are just inconveniences to be ignored?

UPDATE: ABC News Report on Palin's "parsing" can be seen here

Shocking.

Michelle Malkin misrepresents a story.  Don't you find that shocking?
Here's her post, which she titles "Uhhhhh: Family doesn’t want Obama wearing troop bracelet" and in which she links to other Right Wing Nut Job Bloggers, who at least have the common sense to say that they want to know if it's true or not.

Happily for them, a real journalistic organization picked up on the story and provides the answers that Ed Morrissey was wanting:

The mother of a Wisconsin soldier who died in Iraq says she was "ecstatic" when Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama mentioned during Friday's debate the bracelet she gave him in honor of her son.

 

Tracy Jopek of Merrill told The Associated Press on Sunday she was honored that Obama remembered Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, who was killed in 2006 by a roadside bomb.

Jopek criticized Internet reports suggesting Obama, D-Ill., exploited her son for political purposes.

"I don't understand how people can take that and turn it into some garbage on the Internet," she said.

She clearly doesn't read Michelle Malkin, CEO of the Internet Waste Management firm, michellemalkin.com. Don't expect an update of the post with the lastest information anytime soon. That would be far too fair and balanced for Michelle.

Depends On What Your Definition of Suspension Is

This morning around 7:15, NESN ran a McCain campaign ad.

This morning at 7:35, Nicole Wallace a spokesman for the McCain campaign told Morning Joe that they'd suspended campaigning and running ads until an agreement was reached.  Check your pants, Nicole.  That smell is them smoldering if not spontaneously combusting. 

Andrew Sullivan is on the case, as is Christopher Orr (whose post I reprint in its entirety as it's all equally infuriating):

Today, Ben Smith:

Readers in Iowa and Wisconsin [and Virginia] emailed to say that they saw seen McCain ads on the air this morning, though he's said he's taking them down.

Jonathan Martin:

What exactly constitutes a "suspended campaign?" Well, Team McCain is still working away this morning. Joe Pounder, the indefatigable press aide, blasted out his morning email of clips and quips to reporters with just a bit of dissonance.

Wonkette:

Go to McCain’s website, and you’ll see he’s still collecting campaign contributions and still running his trashy anti-Obama video spots. He’s still doing interviews (just not Letterman!)...

TPM:

Despite McCain's claim that he's put his campaign on hold, two of [his advisers] directly attacked Barack Obama in political terms on television this morning.

The important thing, of course, is that John McCain will not attend debates until the Republic is saved, or doing so will get his running mate out of her debate, whichever comes first.

 

Procrastination Aid

This site serves no purpose other than for amusement and time wasting. But it's Oh So Fun. Click on the Vanity Fair link for even more fun.

McCain Slams the Times; the Times Folds???

Yesterday the McCain camp blasted the New York Times for, what it claimed was biased and unfair reporting, saying that it was no longer "a journalistic organization."  The Times' sin?  It reported that Rick Davis, McCain's campaign chair had received close to $2 million dollars for lobbying against tighter regulation of the mortgage industry (ah, yes....Change that We Need).  The tirade started when Dana Bash of CNN, asked Davis about the article.  After Davis was done condemning the Times, Steve Schmidt, COO of the campaign stepped in and started slinging half truths about people associated with Obama's campaign, like Joe Biden's son....

Then, when Politico fact checked the conference call and discovered multiple factual errors from the McCain campaign, the campaign turned on Politico:

'One McCain aide, Michael Goldfarb, said Politico was “quibbling with ridiculously small details when the basic things are completely right.”

Another, Brian Rogers, responded more directly:

“You are in the tank,” he e-mailed. '

The McCain continues its war against the media with an 'either your for us or your against us' where any real journalistic efforts to get the facts behind the spin, to discover the truths underneath the mud that  they're slinging means you are against them (just ask Andrew Sullivan--they won't even respond to his emails). 

As outrageous as this tactic is, based on today's NYTimes stories on the first debate, it looks like it's working:

Fair and balanced?  Not so much. 

Rachel Maddow Hits Troopergate

Rachel Maddow covers Troopergate in high definition, high detail....but it's the beginning of the segment that is most interesting.  The part where she talks about who is advising Sarah Palin....a lot of familiar faces from the Bush Administration.....ayuh.  Change?  Anyone? Anyone around here for change?

Sarah's Emailing Me

I used to enjoy getting emails from John, but now that he's having Sarah email me, I might have to opt off the list. 
(Oh, and I'm glad she's clear that her son is an active duty soldier and not in the National Guard, as John McCain seems to believe.....add that to his ever growing list of gaffes).

Dear Supporter,

When I joined John McCain as his running mate, I knew I was in for a roller coaster ride of ups and downs on the campaign trail. But, I want you to know that I joined John McCain and the others on our ticket in this great election because I'm putting our country first.

John McCain and I have been called "mavericks" and "reformers" because we're guided by shared values and principles and we're not afraid to stand up to the status quo in their defense. And that's why we want you to send us, and other reformers like us, to Washington.

Will you help send us to Washington by making a generous contribution of any amount to McCain-Palin Victory 2008 right away? Your financial support will go a long way in electing Reform Republicans in November.

As the mother of an active duty soldier, I want John McCain as our next Commander in Chief. And I want to elect a Congressional majority in November who has the courage to support our troops and who will stop bowing to political pressure and admit the surge has been successful. We need to send a team to Washington who will support the brave men and women in uniform and bring them home with their heads held high in victory.

Friends, in the course of a few weeks, the Obama-Biden Democrats have launched attack after attack on me, my family and John McCain. They're desperate to win and they'll no doubt launch these attacks against other reformers on our ticket.

They are spreading lies and misinformation and we must stop them. Your immediate contribution of any amount- whether it's $25 or $250- helps McCain-Palin Victory 2008 fight back before they turn these shameful tactics on others we support.

I'm sure you've heard that in this election, the Obama-Biden Democrats have a large financial advantage over us. You can help us close this gap today by following this link to make your secure online donation to McCain-Palin Victory 2008. The financial support you give today will make all the difference in this election. Thank you for your support.